1) Papuan human rights defender faces intimidation after delivering statement at the UN

2) Jokowi's Papua visit over the blood and tears of the Papuan people: ULMWP

-----------------------------

https://humanrightsmonitor.org/case/papuan-human-rights-defender-faces-intimidation-after-delivering-statement-at-the-un/

Human Rights Monitor

1) Papuan human rights defender faces intimidation after delivering statement at the UN

Cases, Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 26 July 2024 

Mrs Lamberti Faan, a Papuan human rights defender and internally displaced woman from the Maybrat Regency, Papua Barat Daya Province, and her relatives have been subjected to a series of intimidations following her testimony at the 56th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The statement brought attention to the condition of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Maybrat Regency. Since delivering her statement, Mrs Faan and her family have experienced harassment and threats, creating a climate of fear and insecurity. This intimidation includes constant surveillance, direct threats, and attempts to gather personal information, affecting not only Mrs Faan but also her relatives in Sorong and Maybrat.

The intimidation began on 25 June 2024, when the Maybrat Police Chief contacted Mrs Faan’s brother, asking about her whereabouts. The following day, Mrs Faan’s sister received a similar call from the Maybrat military chief (Dandim), inquiring about Mrs Faan’s location. On 27 June 2024, an individual suspected to be an intelligence officer contacted Mrs Faan’s sister, seeking personal information about her, including her full name, nickname, religion, occupation, and residence. This surveillance pattern continued as, on 1 July 2024, Mrs Lamberti Faan noticed a familiar police officer from Maybrat on her flight, indicating she was being closely monitored.

The threats escalated in early July 2024, after Maybrat government officials took notice of the statement at the UNHRC. On 3 July 2024, Mrs Faan was advised by a friend to move away from Maybrat to a safe place for a month. Meanwhile, Mrs Faan’s relatives in Sorong and Maybrat reported visits from unknown individuals and ministry officials, attempting to gather information about her family under the pretext of offering housing and scholarships. On 5 July 2024, an intelligence officer contacted Mrs Faan’s sister again, asking detailed questions about her and her family. This was followed by an unknown man visiting Mrs Faan’s house in Sorong on 7 July 2024, under the guise of searching for vegetables.

The harassment reached a peak with multiple incidents in mid-July. On 13  July  2024, Mrs Faan’s sister received another call from an intelligence officer asking to meet and inquire about her children. On 15 July 2024, a close relative reported being approached by two men at a restaurant in the town of Kumurkek, who showed a video of Mrs Lamberti Faan’s UN statement while asking questions about her. On 16 July 2024, drones were spotted flying around Mrs Faan’s house in Sorong. on 17 July 2024, a vendor parked his vehicle suspiciously outside her house for an extended period, adding to the family’s distress.

In response to these events, Mrs Lamberti Faan and her children have relocated to a different town for safety. Despite the ongoing threats, she remains committed to her advocacy work and calls for the protection of human rights defenders. Mrs Faan urged international bodies and local authorities to investigate the acts of intimidation and ensure the safety of her and her family. The continuous harassment underscores the urgent need for greater protection for those speaking out against human rights abuses in West Papua.

Mrs Lamberti Faan, speaking during the 56th regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva

Video

--------------------------------

https://www.indoleft.org/news/2024-07-24/jokowis-papua-visit-over-the-blood-and-tears-of-the-papuan-people-ulmwp.html

2) Jokowi's Papua visit over the blood and tears of the Papuan people: ULMWP

Suara Papua – July 24, 2024

Jayapura – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's visit to Jayapura, West Papua, on July 23 in the context of the commemoration of Indonesian National Children's Day at the Istora Papua Bangkit sports complex was a form of distain and insult when as many as 62,000 Papuans are still displaced.

Most of them are mothers and children in eight conflict areas, Intan Jaya, Maybrat, the Star Mountains, Nduga, Puncak, Yahukimo, Puncak Jaya and Paniai.

This was conveyed in a statement by United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) President Executive Menase Tabuni not long ago.

Tabuni emphasised that, "President Jokowi has been in power for 10 years, he has conducted safari visits and development tours more than 15 times in the land of Papua. The visits by Jokowi have been carried out over the bloody debris, bones and suffering of the Papuan people".

"During this time, he has repeatedly visited West Papua, but there has never been any impact or benefit for indigenous Papuans. He does not have a road map to resolve the root problem of the political conflict and human rights [abuses] in West Papua, while at the same time the Indonesian government is busy dealing with conflicts and problems in other countries, such as Palestine, Myanmar and others", said Tabuni.

Tabuni said that the infrastructure development, the roads and the bridges built by the Indonesian president are actually an effort to accelerate the migration of the Indonesian population into Papua.

These roads and bridges are also a strategy to smooth the process of developing civil infrastructure and specifically to facilitate access for the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Indonesian Police (Polri) to conduct military operations in conflict areas.

Tabuni said that President Widodo needs to know that the land of Papua has the third largest tropical forests in the world, after the Amazon forests in Brazil and the Congo Basin in Central African. And since he came to power the forests in Papuan are threatened with ecocide.

"Of the 34 million hectares of forests in West Papua, 13 million hectares are controlled by investors in the interests of the oligarchy through a handful of Indonesian political elites in Jakarta", he said.

A similar view was conveyed by ULMWP Vice President Executive Octovianus Mote, who said that over the 10 years that Widodo has been in office space for free expression has been gagged.

"Under President Jokowi's leadership, there has also been a curbing of space for freedom in the land of Papua. Around 7,000 Papuans have been arrested and imprisoned for carrying out actions to support the ULMWP membership, especially during the 2015-2018 period, as well as carrying out acts of resistance against racism in 2019 and various other aftershocks".

"Many civilians who are of a productive age are tortured and shot dead by TNI and Polri forces in the land of Papua. President Jokowi's promise in 2015 in Jayapura to open access for [foreign] journalists to visit Papua and his promise in February 2018 in Jakarta of a UN Human Rights Council visit to Papua have not been realised", said Mote.

Therefore the ULMWP emphasised that after 61 years of the Indonesian occupation of the land of Papua, the future of the Papuan nation is threatened by destruction through genocide, ethnocide and ecocide.

"Therefore we call on the Papuan people and the Papuan political elite who work in the Indonesian colonial system not to sell their self-esteem and the hak kesulungan [hereditary rights afforded to first born child] of the Papuan nation to foreign nations. We call on the Papua people not to sell the lands, forests and hak kesulungan of the Papuan nation to anyone", he asserted.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "ULMWP Menyatakan Kunjungan Presiden Jokowi Ke Papua di Atas Darah dan Air Mata".]

Source: https://suarapapua.com/2024/07/24/ulmwp-menyatakan-kunjungan-presiden-jokowi-ke-papua-di-atas-darah-dan-air-mata/

----------------------------